Brooke Sims shows us all what can be accomplished by young trainers. She is down in Texas, but her sucess came to my attention a year or two ago. Listen to her implicity--no mantras, no levels, no strict adherence to any one horse guru--and most of all, a constantly open mind. Confident, yet humble--when natural horsemanship is properly practiced it produces first rate horses and confident, humble trainers.
Here is a interview I conducted with Ms Simms last month
Q. Do you use a round pen to start horses in training?
No, when I get on a horse for its very first time I typically get on it out in the pasture....
Q. Describe the kind of ground work that you do with the horses.
I get them to walk and trot in hand. Then I teach them to walk, trot, extended trot, and lope on the lunge line. Also to face and reverse. After that I work on backing and side passing. Then I spend the rest of the time desensitizing them to anything that could ever possible scare them. I have found tons of horses to be scared of water, tarps, rain slickers, and Wal-Mart bags. When they are good with everything I can think of I put a saddle on them and flap the stirrups, beat on the seat, and then I lunge them with it on.
Q. What about head gear for use in early training?
I like to start them using a bosal, because it is normally easy for them to understand due to the fact that pressure from the bosal when turning under saddle is applied to the same place as pressure from a halter when turning on the ground. So it basically uses the commands they are already used to, just from a different angle.
Q. When you get on a horse for the first time do you prefer someone to hold it or do you work alone
When I get on a horse for the first time I do typically prefer for it to be more of a group effort. I normally have my mom or dad lead the horse while I ride it. I get her to first lead us but then I get her to lunge us just so the horse is used to the extra weight before I ride it alone. That helps the horse understand the transition of commands I believe.
Q. How do you get a horse to relax for training?
... begin with simple walking and backing exercises. Then I stop and groom them for a little while so they are nice and calm for the training session ahead of them.
Q. After a horse is comfortable with walking with a rider on his back, how do you prepare him for cantering?
After they are ok with trotting under saddle I go back to the lunge line where I have someone else help me get them used to the cue for the lope. I get the person to give the cue for a lope from the ground while I give the cue for the lope from the saddle. After that the horse normally picks up on the similarities. Then I go around on the lunge line only using the command for lope from the saddle. After they pick up I get off the line and go and try it in the pasture.
When I trained horses for the rescue I worked with many different breeds of horses and the only other horse I have found that matches the intelligence but not the level headedness of the Colonial Spanish Mustang was an Arabian. I love Colonial Spanish Mustangs because they are not only incredibly smart, but they are also calm, and have extreme endurance. They can go from the horse winning all the races to the horse that you use to train the green kids. Overall I haven’t ever found a horse that could measure up to the greatness of the Colonial Spanish Horses.
Q. Do you have any particular bloodline that you prefer?
I do prefer the Locomotion bloodline, our stallion Blazing Gun and my horse Dance Inside the Sun are both out of the locomotion bloodline and I have found them to both learn very quickly and that even their trots are very smooth. I have also been working with a grandson of locomotion and he is also very responsive and seems to pick things up very quickly. All of the descendents of Loco I have ever worked with have proven to be incredibly smart and smooth.
Q. Do you prefer to train the gaited or the non gaited mustangs?
Every horse I have put under saddle has been gaited so far. I love working with gaited horses but I have found that when putting them under saddle they seem to have a very hard time at first understanding how to gait. Honestly though being gaited doesn’t really matter, it just tells me that I will need to spend a little more time helping it understand its gaits. I’ve been working with a couple horses lately that aren’t gaited I still like working them but I do like that you can gait on a gaited horse instead of bouncing around at a trot all the time.
Q. That trainers and writers influence your training techniques?
Throughout my life I have gotten advice from many people. I try to intertwine all of it into my own style of training. My mom, Mrs. Vickie,(Ives) Tommie Grey, and my old 4-H leader taught me the most though. I also watch ...“Down Under Horsemanship” a lot too. And I have read lots of books including yours. My advice is to always apply what people tell you if it works it works and if it doesn’t then doesn’t. I love trying new things because sometimes you will find a better way you never would have thought of.
Q. If you could only ride or train which would you do?
I don’t really know how to answer this question because even horses that have been under saddle a long time are still training when I ride them. Still to this day I have found things that Blaze and Sid have problems with and I have had to train them every day to overcome fears and to learn new things. I believe to keep your horse involved you should act as though every day is a training session where you and your horse can learn new things. There is always something that a horse and rider can better themselves at.
Q. Do you train your horses to do any tricks?
I have taught my horse some tricks. For example I taught my personal horse Sid how to play soccer and kick the ball while I’m on him and to kick it where I want it. I also taught him to coup stick fight and to play tag. Let’s just say some times riding around the pasture gets boring. I have also been working on getting him to lay down and bow.
Q. What would you like to be doing in ten or twenty years?
10 years from now I will be 24 I hope I will have graduated college and be a certified veterinarian. I also hope to still have my pride and joy Sid. I want to still have horses to train and horse shows to go to. 20 years from now I will be 34 and I hope to have my own large animal veterinary clinic so I can set my own hours and still be able to train Spanish Mustangs in my free time. I hope to own my own ranch where I can train horses and go on trail rides. I want to still be showing with tejas horse club at this time to.
Q. What advice would you give a novice with a young or green horse that they want to train?
My advice is to be patient, listen to what adults have to tell you, and as hard as it is try not to ever get frustrated. If you do please do your horse and yourself a favor and take and minute to just breathe. No good training has ever been done with an angry human and a scared horse. Take time to gain the horses trust and don’t just rush into things. Also just for when you do get on, when I was very young my 4-H leader taught me that if you keep your heels down your butt will stay down to, and so far its worked for me so you should give it a try sometime. Remember every ride is a chance to learn for both you and your horse.
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Out of every clinician, and every old codger I have ever read or heard of..."No good training is ever done with an angry human and a scared horse" is the single most solid and useful bit of information anyone messing about with horses can ever hear.
ReplyDeleteThe real question is when is Alicia and Brooke going to come to the Swamp for a ride? -Lloyd